


Derek is Stiles' Prince Charming

by awareoftheconcept



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Confessions, Kidnapped Stiles, Multi, Near Death Experiences, Rated For Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-31
Updated: 2015-01-31
Packaged: 2018-03-09 19:29:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 11,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3261677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awareoftheconcept/pseuds/awareoftheconcept
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles is kidnapped by what appears to be a group of hunters. Scott can visit him in the dream world of the Nemeton, but it will take more than talk to convince Stiles that he is real.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first couple of chapters are short, but after that they are much longer. If there are any mistakes, please let me know. As usual, none of these characters belong to me. Enjoy!

There have not been many things Scott has had to deal with in his life without Stiles. His dad leaving, breaking his arm, failing calculus, turning into a werewolf; Stiles was there for all of it with snacks, video games, and nonstop chatter, showing him how to keep moving forward.

So when Stiles goes missing, Scott is completely lost.


	2. Chapter 2

Stiles was in pain. A lot of pain.

He has no idea how long he has been there. Days? Weeks? Everything just blended together. They ask him questions, they beat him, they ask him more questions, they beat him some more, he passes out, and the cycle begins again. At least he can say he is never bored. They are feeding him though, which is surprising, even though it is just enough to get him through the day. He refused the first two times and has not made that mistake again. It only made the beatings more excruciating.

He couldn’t move a muscle on his own. He was pretty sure nothing was broken, but he was sore all over. They had cut him, bruised him, electrocuted and burned him, and he still refused to talk. He was pretty sure they would grow tired of him soon. He hadn’t talked yet, and with each passing day they were more likely to realize how useless he really is.

All he can do is sit back and trust his pack to find him.


	3. Chapter 3

It has been five days since they found out Stiles was missing.

The Sheriff had called Scott, asking him to remind Stiles to tell his father when he would be out late, even if his phone is dead. Since then they had been searching 24/7, trying to find anything that would help lead them to Stiles.

Right now Scott had all his wolves gathered at his house; they needed to stick close to each other. Everyone was worried about what might have happened to Stiles. Erica, Boyd, Aiden, Ethan, and Isaac had not left anyone’s side, jumping at the slightest thing.

Allison, Danny, and Lydia were there too, trying to keep moral up, but looking extremely drained. Lydia was continually trying to use her powers to find Stiles, but every time she came up short she would just sigh and give a frustrated smile saying, “At least that means he is still alive.”

Chris would stop by every now and then to check up on Allison and to offer his support but he never stayed long, always leaving to find another lead.

It was obvious that everyone was affected by Stiles absence, but the Sheriff, Scott, and Derek were being hit the hardest. The Sheriff spent almost every waking moment at the station, only eating when someone would bring him food and sleeping when his deputies would send him home. Scott had been there when Stiles had lost his mom, had seen how stressed and careless the Sheriff had been so, as dark as it sounded, Scott knew how to handle the Sheriff.

But Derek? Scott had never seen Derek look this shattered before. His hair was mussed up like he was constantly running his hands through it. His hands were always gripping on to something (his arm chair, the table, his legs) like he was physically holding himself together. His eyes showed that he had not been sleeping and, by the looks of the rest of him, he had not been eating either.

Watching Derek now, Scott remembered when Isaac and Aiden had called that first night, saying they had found Stiles’ jeep. When the pack had reached the car, they spread out trying to find a scent. By the time they had finished the initial search it was past 3 in the morning and all they had come up with was the smell of wolfsbane and trace amounts of gunpowder, giving the impression that hunters were responsible. Scott decided to call it for the night. None of his betas would be of much use when they were run ragged, and the majority of them had school the next day.

Derek had refused to head home though, saying he was going to keep searching. Scott tried to argue but when it was clear Derek wasn’t going to leave, Scott backed down.

The next day after school, Scott headed over to Derek’s. Walking into the loft, Scott thought he had stepped into the middle of a war zone. The kitchen was destroyed, plates and silverware were thrown everywhere. All the chairs were broken into bits, and there were pieces of the dining room table stuck through the wall. The only piece of furniture left standing was the couch that Stiles always sat on during pack nights. Derek was just lying in the middle of it all, twisted in on himself, the faint scent of rage fading, with the stronger scent of fear settling in. Derek had been staying with Scott since then.

Scott was startled out of his memory by Chris coming through the door. He had a look on his face that didn’t exactly scream “good news” so Scott steeled himself for the worst.

“Dad, what’s wrong,” Allison asked, getting up from where she had been sitting.

Chris looked towards Scott, “Bad news, the search for Stiles is going to have to wait. There is a rouge Yech in the forest. It has already killed two hikers.”

“A Yech?” Lydia asked. “Like the Native American prankster demon?” Everyone turned to Lydia, looking surprised. “What?” she said, shrugging and flipping her hair. “Are you guys _still_ surprised by my array of knowledge?”

All the werewolves turned to Chris, about to start arguing. Allison walked to her dad before anyone could say anything. “Do we really need the pack for this? Couldn’t we take care of this situation ourselves?”

“Allison,” Chris said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “I know that you all have your hands full with trying to find Stiles, but unfortunately this takes precedence.” He looked back over at Scott, “I am not telling you to abandon him, but if you want to stay in good graces with the surrounding hunters, you will show that you care about the lives of your town, not just the lives of your pack.”

Scott nodded. “Your right Chris,” He said, holding his hands up to the responding growls. “Besides,” he said, his eyes flashing red, “it’s been awhile since we went hunting.”


	4. Chapter 4

Upset as he was about not using all his time to find Stiles, Scott knew he had made the right choice. Chris was speaking truthfully: if he couldn’t protect his town then what kind of Alpha was he? Not to mention the fact that his pack needed to have a simple task they could complete. Five days with no leads had left them all feeling hopeless.

Once they were in the forest, able to stretch their legs, run around, and howl at the moon, he could feel their energy grow. When this was done he knew they would all have a better spirit.

They followed the path that Chris had laid out, Scott in the middle with the rest of the pack trailing behind in a v formation. It didn’t take long to find the Yech. In fact, the Yech found them. Lydia had mentioned they gravitate towards groups of people; the more people there were, the larger the pranks could be.

Once the demon showed itself the pack had it surrounded. They were closing in on it, making it impossible to run. Erica and Boyd lunged, going for an easy takedown, but Scott should have realized it was too easy. Before he could even blink there was a flash of light and the Yech was gone, leaving only a trail of laughter. Erica and Boyd were grappling with each other, Isaac and Ethan were several yards from where they had been, and everyone else had fallen to the ground.

Scott was the only one standing. Once he caught sight of the Yech he took off after it. He heard Chris yelling his name but Scott refused to stop. They all needed this. He needed this.

He was so preoccupied with chasing after the Yech that he didn’t notice the obvious trap. A pile of leaves in his path turned out to have concealed a rather deep hole, which he immediately fell into. Scott hit his head on a large rock that was at the bottom, his last thought before passing out, _‘How is this a good prank?’_


	5. Chapter 5

When Scott woke up he was still in the forest. However, he was no longer in the hole. He assumed that someone must have pulled him out. But when he pushed himself off the ground and looked around, there was no one to be seen.

“Hello?!” he yelled out. Nobody responded.

Scott started to get worried. _‘What if they are all hurt?’_ he wondered, quickening his pace. He was using all his senses now, sight, hearing, scent, but he couldn’t find anything. He had been wandering around for a couple minutes, when he smelled him. But, that couldn’t be him, could it? Scott took off running. The closer he got, the stronger the smell was. He smelled blood, burnt skin, and… did he hear humming?

Scott was so focused on running that, when he finally took the time to look at his surroundings, he came to a complete stop. He knew this area of the woods. He had been here so many times in his life, in his nightmares; the Nemeton. He walked slowly into the clearing, walking up to the base of the tree. Sitting underneath, singing under his breath, was Stiles.

“Stiles?” Scott questioned, not really believing he was there.

Stiles looked up. “Scott?” he said, with a muddled look on his face. “Scott!” he said again, smiling this time, “What a nice hallucination! Much better than the boring solidarity I have had these past couple days.”

Scott just looked at his best friend in horror. The closer he got to him, the more damage he could see. “Stiles, what happened to you?” he asked. Stiles was covered in cuts, in burns, looking like his whole body was broken. His eyes were red, brought out by the purple of the skin surrounding it. His cheeks were sunken in, there were parts of his hair missing, and were those? Yup, he had bruises on his wrists. Scott was just reaching for Stiles when he heard someone shouting his name. He stood up, turning around, trying to find the source. He heard Stiles quietly say, “Scott?” Scott spun to look at Stiles. The other voice was getting louder and louder until suddenly-

He found himself on the ground, surrounded by the concerned faces of his pack. “Scott, are you okay?” Allison asked.

Scott moved into a sitting position. He didn’t trust himself with words, noticing the tear tracks that were on his face. He quickly wiped them off and, after clearing his throat, said, “Yeah, I’m fine. Is everyone else okay?”

Chris nodded. “After you fell the Yech was laughing so hard me and Derek were able to sneak up on it.” Scott flushed. “Derek is taking care of the body now.”

Scott stood up. “Good job everyone. Let’s call it for the night,” he said, starting to leave.

“But Scott-”

“What about Stiles-”

“We still have a couple hours-”

Scott didn’t even turn around. “I said, let’s call it for the night.” And with that he was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Scott knew he couldn’t go back to his house so he just wandered around. Without even thinking about it he found himself at the Stilinski’s house. Sitting in the driveway was Stiles’ jeep. Scott just sighed and went into the house.

Walking into Stiles’ room, Scott was able to smell the recent scent of Derek over everything, especially the computer chair, so he was not surprised when, an hour later, Derek came in through the window.

“Hey,” Scott said from the floor where he was laying.

Derek froze. “Hey,” he said back timidly. “I umm, I was just…” starting to stumble over his words.

“It’s fine Derek,” Scott leaned up, starting to laugh. “I am doing the exact same thing, you know.” Derek looked over at him puzzled, so Scott elaborated. “Ever since we were kids, when I feel upset I find myself going to Stiles. Right now, his room is the closest we have to him. So there is no need to be ashamed. I am pretty sure I can smell a little of everyone in this room right now.”

Derek nodded slowly, sinking into the computer chair.

“I find it interesting that none of us will sit on his bed,” Scott said.

Derek laughed. “Well, it is Stiles’ bed we are talking about.” Scott laughed as well. “There needs to be something that still smells like him,” Derek said softly.

They sat in silence for a little while until Derek looked up at him. “Why did you leave tonight?”

Scott didn’t know if he should tell him what happened. He knew there was no way that it was real, but he still couldn’t get the scent of Stiles’ blood out of his brain. Before he could answer, he saw Derek shift a little.

“Are you…embarrassed?” Derek said, clearly uncomfortable with having to ask.

Scott was confused. “Embarrassed?” he asked. “Embarrassed about wha…oh!” he said with a laugh. “No, no I am not embarrassed that I fell into a gigantic hole tonight.” Shaking his head he added, “That was the whole reason we were able to catch the Yech, right?” Derek nodded. “Yeah, so, no, not embarrassed.” They were quiet for another couple seconds, until Scott looked up again. “Wait, does everyone think I left tonight because I was embarrassed?”

“Yeah?” Derek said. “I mean, there was no other possible explanation. You have been so unwavering on spending every minute trying to find Stiles. So you having us stop for the night, at only 10 o’clock, it was pretty strange…Plus, falling in a giant hole is pretty embarrassing,” he said with a smile.

“Oh shut up,” Scott said, throwing a shirt that had been near him at Derek. “It is not that embarrassing.” Derek caught the shirt with ease, the smile still on his face. “If you say so,” he replied. Derek’s face sobered a bit, “So why did you leave then? You looked upset.”

 ‘ _I might as well tell someone_ ,’ Scott thought, shaking his head. “When I got knocked out, I dreamed that I woke up in the forest, with nothing around. Not the pack. Not the Yech. Nothing. It felt so real I didn’t even know I was dreaming. While wandering around, I smelled Stiles. So I followed the smell to the base of the Nemeton.” Scott paused and looked up, Derek nodded his head for him to continue.

“Stiles was just sitting underneath, singing a song. He, he was bloody, injured, just looking at him hurt,” Scott said, his voice breaking a little. “Before I could do so much as touch him I was being woken up by Allison, Stiles’ scent still stuck in my mind. I just,” Scott paused, “I couldn’t do it tonight.”

Scott hadn’t even realized that Derek had gotten up until he felt Derek’s hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Derek looking at him intensely. “We will get him back Scott.”

“I know, it’s just, that dream showed me what I am afraid is happening to Stiles right now. He could be getting tortured. Hell, he could already be dead.”

“You know how stubborn Stiles is,” Derek said. “He won’t die that easily, not when he has his dad to get back to. Not when he has his pack to get back to.”

“Your right. I know your right,” Scott said. “It just hit me so hard tonight, how much I miss him.”

Derek was still clutching the shirt, “We all do.”

After that, they sat in a comfortable silence for the rest of the night, eventually drifting off to sleep. They woke up the next morning surrounded by the rest of the pack, who had snuck in sometime during the night. Blankets and pillows were scattered across the floor, courtesy of the Sheriff.


	7. Chapter 7

The unplanned “cuddle party,” as Isaac liked to call it, was exactly what everyone needed to change their frame of mind. They were coming up with creative ideas, trying to find something that will give them a better idea of where Stiles might be.

The werewolves were scouring the surrounding towns.

Danny was searching the internet and working with the Sheriff, listening to police scanners and using security cameras to try to find a clue.

Lydia and Deaton were trying to find locater spells that can be used without the lost person’s involvement. Lydia declared that after they find Stiles, everyone is going to become an expert in these spells so this never happens again.

Chris and Allison were asking every hunter in the area to help out, which is exhausting work since Stiles is a part of a werewolf pack. However, most of the surrounding hunters have a small respect for the McCall pack. As shown with the Yech, the McCall pack are protectors, not predators.

However, two nights after the Yech hunt, Chris calls Scott, telling him to meet at Deaton’s. When Scott walks through the door, Derek and Isaac behind him, he sees Chris stitching a cut on his side, with Deaton doing the same to Allison. Scott runs over, checking on her. She gives him a smile. “I am fine Scott,” she says. “And we may have found a lead on where Stiles is.”

“What happened?” Scott says, with a little more force than necessary.

Chris spoke up, “We were questioning a group of hunters a couple towns over, when they told us that the Drept’s, a Romanian family of hunters, had called them, asking for some help. At the time they were busy with their own hunt, so they weren’t able to help. They don’t know where they are right now, but what they do know is that the Drept family is known to take human members of a pack, thinking them the easiest to get information from.”

Almost everyone had arrived by the end of Chris’ explanation. “So hunters did take Stiles?” The Sheriff asked, looking extremely angry.

Chris just nodded, not saying a word.

“So why do you look like you just got attacked?” Boyd asked.

“Well, they weren’t too forth coming with their information,” Chris said. “And after we started asking questions they attacked us. Two of them turned on Allison, knocking her out. I didn’t take too kindly to that,” he said, examining his bruised knuckles.

Scott turned to Allison. “Are you okay?”

She smiled again, “Yeah, I just got knocked out.” She frowned. “And I had a really weird dream about Stiles.”

Scott froze. “What?”

“Yeah,” Allison said, struggling to get up, “I was in the forest and I started walking, eventually finding myself at the Nemeton. Sitting underneath it was Stiles. He saw me and had the biggest smile on his face. I only saw him for a second before I woke up,” she said, wiping the tears that had gathered in her eyes. “I just miss him so much.”

Scott shared a look with Derek. “Allison,” Scott asked. “What did Stiles look like?”

Allison gave him a questioning look. “What did he look like?” After seeing how serious Scott and Derek looked she said, “How he looked? Hmm, well I didn’t get a great look but, he didn’t exactly look good. His faced looked thin, and I think I saw a lot of bruises. Why?” Scott had paled a little. “Scott, why?”

“Because I saw the exact same thing when I got knocked out by the Yech.”

“What?”

“Yeah,” Scott said, getting worked up. “When I got knocked out I saw Stiles, exactly like you said. He was sitting under the Nemeton, singing a song to himself. He looked like he had been beaten to an inch of his life. Like you said, I didn’t get in more than a few words before I woke up.”

“How is this possible?” Derek asked.

Everyone in the room got silent.

 “I think I might have an explanation.” Deaton said, looking thoughtful. “You three, Scott, Allison, and Stiles, did the sacrifice to the Nemeton for your parents. I told you when it happened that there would be a door open in your mind. You were able to close it on your own, but something like that does not leave you entirely. You can still access it, just not consciously.”

“Like when we fall asleep?” Scott asked.

“Falling asleep is not enough. To truly fall into the Nemeton’s world you must be knocked unconscious.”

Scott looked around the room, “Like…when we fall asleep?”

Deaton chuckled. “No Scott, there is a difference between sleeping and falling unconscious. When you sleep, you still have a sense of awareness. When you fall unconscious though, you don’t, which is why you are so susceptible to entering other worlds. Stiles must have been unconscious the same time that Scott and Allison were, making it possible-”

“For us to find him,” Scott interrupted. “Sorry,” he said, looking excited. “It’s just, we can use this to find him! If I go back in, knowing it is really him, I can ask him where he is, ask him who took him, ask him-”

“It’s not that simple Scott,” Deaton said.

“It may not be simple, but it is the only lead we have.” Scott walked up to Derek. “Quick, hit me as hard as you can.”

“Umm…” Derek replied, trying to catch someone’s eye.

At that, Erica started laughing. “Can I do it?” she asked, stepping up to the middle of the room.

“I wouldn’t mind getting the chance to hit him,” Danny said, joining in.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Isaac piped up. “I think I should get to do the honors.”

All the wolves started bickering amongst themselves except for Derek and Boyd, the latter of which looking extremely amused. Scott just sat there watching his betas, nodding every so often. Deaton was trying, and failing, to get everyone’s attention, muttering about how dangerous it was. Erica and Aiden were getting into a heated argument in the corner, when suddenly Erica threw a glass jar at Aiden. He quickly dodged it, but Scott wasn’t quite so lucky, getting struck right in the temple. The last thing he heard before he passed out was Erica yell out, “Ha! I win!”


	8. Chapter 8

Stiles woke up in the forest. Again. Leaning against the Nemeton’s trunk. Stiles sighed, enjoying the quiet while he could. He never knew how long he would be able to stay in the forest. Sometimes he was able to stay for hours, sometimes only for a couple of minutes. One time he was here for what felt like an entire day.

Stiles was always surprised by how much he loved dreaming of the forest. The Nemeton used to be featured primarily in his nightmares, but now it brought him a sense of calm. He could still feel all of his injuries but, knowing there was no one to disturb him with threats, verbal abuse, or beatings, he was allowed to do something he wasn’t able to do while awake: relax.

The first two days that he had been with the hunters he had been his usual self; mouthy and full of sarcasm. They had lost their patience on the third day, hitting him so hard he passed out. It was the first time he had dreamt of the Nemeton.

He only dreamt of the Nemeton when he was knocked unconscious while the hunters were torturing him, never when he fell asleep on his own. Stiles felt like that was significant, but he could not find the energy to care. He refused to talk while he was awake at all now. And the hunters were getting desperate.

Earlier that day, a couple of the hunters had tied his arms and pulled him up to the ceiling in the warehouse, letting go of the rope when he got to the top and stopping his fall right before he hit the ground. They hadn’t even questioned him today, they were just doing this to cause more agony. And it had worked. He had dislocated one shoulder, the pain being enough to knock him out.

He had been sitting underneath the Nemeton for close to an hour when he heard someone yelling his name. _‘Odd,’_ he thought, searching the area. A couple seconds later Scott burst through the clearing.

“Scott,” Stiles said, giving him a toothy smile. “It is great to see you.”

 _‘Even though I know you aren’t real,’_ he thought.

Scott walked up to the tree and sat down in front of Stiles. He looked excited, bouncing with energy, and so happy to see Stiles. “It is great to see you too,” Scott said, the widest grin on his face. He started to look around the clearing. “You know, I used to have nightmares about this place, but I never noticed how beautiful it actually is.”

“I was just thinking about that,” Stiles said with a laugh. “Although I am not surprised you knew that.” Scott looked puzzled but Stiles just waved him off, knowing he was just a figment of his subconscious. “Getting tortured and passing out is a small price to pay for the peace and quiet I get here. I can’t stand listening to them yell at each other in Romanian.”

“Romanian?” Scott asked. “So it was the Drept’s who took you.”

“The who? Fake Scott, I do not know what you are talking about,” Stiles said, shaking his head.

“Fake Scott?” Scott asked, with a confused look on his face. “Stiles…do you not think I am real?”

“It’s not crazy to see your best friend in your dreams, but it is crazy to start believing he is real,” Stiles said, still smiling. “And I am not ready to go that crazy yet.”

“But Stiles-” Scott said grabbing Stiles’ shoulder, unknowingly aggravating the injury.

Stiles screamed out in pain, waking up on the floor of his makeshift cell. He looked over and saw a meager plate of food and a bottle of water. He also noticed that his arm was back in its socket, but still extremely tender.

He finished his food and lay down, falling into a fitful sleep. That night he had a dreamt that Scott was the one torturing him. He woke up screaming from that dream too. _‘I can’t last much longer,’_ he thought to himself, looking up as the door to his cell opened.


	9. Chapter 9

Scott woke up with a groan.

“Don’t move Scott,” Deaton said, coming out of his office.

“Ugh,” Scott groaned again. “Why am I so sore?”

“Well, you were unconscious for 14 hours,” Deaton said.

“Why wasn’t I this sore when we did the sacrifice? Or even after the first time I was knocked out?” Scott asked, rubbing his chest. “Wait. Did you say 14 hours?!”

“For the initial sacrifice you probably were sore, you were just running on adrenaline. As for when you were attacked by the Yech, you were only unconscious for a couple of minutes, a half an hour tops.” Deaton walked over the counter, pouring something into a cup. “And yes, I did say 14 hours. Derek,” he said, turning to Derek, who Scott just noticed was sitting in the corner, “can you go wake up the rest of your pack.”

Derek nodded and walked out into the lobby.

Scott gave Deaton a questioning look. Deaton just shrugged. “They refused to leave,” he said, handing Scott the cup.

“Umm…what is this?” Scott asked, holding the cup up to his nose. It smelled good, like lemons.

“It’s tea Scott, it will help with the soreness.”

“Sweet,” Scott said, drinking it all at once. “Oww! It burns!”

“Seriously Scott,” Lydia said, walking into the room. “You just woke up from a coma and immediately try to burn yourself?”

Erica and Isaac laughed, walking up to Scott and nuzzling him.

Allison, Boyd, Ethan, Aiden, and Danny all came into the room after them, talking at the same time.

“Are you okay?”

“Did you see Stiles?”

“Has someone called the Sheriff?”

“Did Stiles tell you where he is?”

Scott didn’t know who to address first.

“Enough!” Derek yelled.

Scott looked over at him gratefully. “Yes, I am okay. And I did see Stiles.” Everyone started to talk at once again. Scott just held up his hand. “I wasn’t able to ask him any questions. I do know that he is with the Drept’s though.”

Allison pulled out her phone. “I need to text my dad, let him know.”

“Are you sure Scott?” Lydia asked. “You said you didn’t get to ask him any questions.”

“I am sure. He mentioned that the people who had him were arguing in Romanian. I don’t know how he knows what Romanian sounds like, but it is Stiles.”

“But you did get to talk to him?” Derek asked, looking hopeful. “How was he?”

“He, well he,” Scott said, struggling to find words. “He-”

“Scott!”

“He looked worse, so much thinner than he did the first time I saw him. While he was rambling he mentioned how often he found himself at the Nemeton, how often he has passed out while being tortured.” Scott stopped to take a breath. “He didn’t even believe that I was real. He called me Fake Scott, and talked to me like I was just a hallucination. When I touched him he just screamed and disappeared.” He looked around the room. “We need to find him. And the sooner the better.”

“Well it’s good that we finally found a locator spell that doesn’t require prior preparation,” Lydia said.

“What does that mean?” Ethan asked.

“It means,” Lydia said, “that if someone was to give Stiles a certain phrase of words to repeat when he is awake, we will be able to find him.”

“Great! Who wants to knock me out this time,” Scott asked. “And not you Erica,” he said, cutting her off before she could say anything.

“Scott,” Deaton interrupted, “I don’t think you should go back in.”

“What? Why not!?” Scott asked angrily. “Other than Allison I am the only one who can go in.”

“I don’t mind,” Allison piped in.

“No, I don’t want either of you to go back in. I don’t know if you will be able to return.”

Everyone turned to Deaton.

“I don’t understand,” Allison said. “When I went in the first time I was able to return immediately, and so was Scott. It was only this time that he didn’t come back right away.”

“Yeah, and I still don’t understand how I was out for 14 hours. It didn’t feel like that long to me,” Scott said.

Deaton sighed. “It’s complicated. The Nemeton’s dream world is empty space and extremely large. You could walk around for weeks and still not have covered a quarter of the area. Allison is lucky she was so close to Stiles, or she might not have found him. I don’t think she would be so lucky the next time. Scott, however, can sense his pack members, even in the Nemeton’s world, which is how he was able to find Stiles so quickly.”

Ethan raised his hand. “Yeah, still confused over here.”

Deaton turned to Scott and Allison. “What did I say when you first did the sacrifice?”

“That we need a strong connection to come back,” Allison said.

“Well,” Deaton said, “Scott and Stiles have a very strong connection to begin with. From what you have said, it seems that Stiles spends a lot of time in that world. The area has grown accustomed to him, and is permeated with his scent. Not only was Stiles’ scent everywhere, but with the addition of Allison, Scott could feel two of his anchors in the area. This must have confused his wolf, making it harder for him to make it back to this world. As strong as his relationship is with Stiles, the pull of the pack on this side was stronger.”

“So why can’t I go in?” Allison asked. “I won’t be affected like Scott is.”

“It’s true, you won’t be as affected as Scott, but this means that you will have a harder time connecting with the pack. Plus, you might not even be able to find Stiles. You could wander around for days in that world and be no closer to finding him. You were lucky to be so close to him the first time. The longer you stay, the more accustomed you become, making it harder to find your way out. You could get lost, become trapped. Both of you.” Deaton said, directing the last comment to Scott.

“I don’t care, I still want to go.”

“Scott-”

“I don’t care,” Scott said again.

“You could get stuck,” Allison said.

“And what will happen to Stiles if we can’t get that message to him?! He could become trapped himself!” Scott yelled. “He could die!”

“I know Scott, I understand,” Allison said. “But if it is not safe than we need to wait until we can come up with a better plan.”

“But there is no more time left! If I can just-”

“I’ll go,” Derek said.

Everyone in the room got quiet.

“What?” Scott asked.

“You said it yourself Scott, we don’t have the time to find another way,” Derek said calmly.

“Sending you in is not a good solution,” Lydia said. “If anything you are more likely to get trapped there.” Derek flushed at that, sending Lydia a glare, but turning to Scott. “The pack needs their Alpha. We need you ready to take the lead when we find out exactly where Stiles is, and you can’t do that when you are in a coma. Scott, I am your second, so let me take your place. That’s what I am here for.”

Scott was about to argue, but he looked around the room, knowing Derek is right. There was only one other person that he trusted could find Stiles in the Nemeton’s world, and that was Derek. “Fine,” Scott says.

Derek smiles like he hasn’t just agreed to risk his life. He turned to Deaton. “So what do we do?”

Deaton just sighed and nodded. “Let me get things ready. I will need help getting all of the ice,” Deaton said pointedly at the group. Scott flinched. “This won’t be easy,” he said to Derek.

Derek let out a laugh, “It never is, is it?”

“Derek,” Lydia said, handing him a scrap of paper. “These are the words that Stiles needs to say. As soon as he does, this,” Lydia pointed to a map on one of the tables, “will light up, giving us his location. It requires a little of his blood to activate, but from what you all are saying he looks like, he won’t need to worry about that. In fact, the extra blood might even make spell stronger,” she said with a grimace on her face.

Derek stared at the scrap of paper, memorizing the words. They were in Latin, and he had to ask the exact pronunciation a couple of times, but he eventually had it memorized. By that time, Deaton had finished setting up the ritual.

Deaton walked over to Derek. “All three times, Stiles has been underneath the Nemeton. I believe, due to Stiles own magic, the area has grown to accommodate him. He is able to come and go much easier than Allison is. However, he is still in risk of getting stuck in the dream world. From what Scott has explained, Stiles believes he is only dreaming, so it may take some time for you to explain to him how the locator spell works.” Deaton put his hand on Derek’s shoulder. “For you specifically, this is your first time going under,” he said. “Just waking up will not work like it has with Scott and Allison these last times. It will take a strong emotional connection to bring you back.”

Scott slapped Derek’s back. “That shouldn’t be an issue since the entire pack is here,” Scott said.

Lydia scoffed at that, muttering under her breath about how bad of an idea this was. Everyone gave her a questioning look, but she just shook her head. Derek just nodded and turned to Scott. “Just make sure you bring him home,” he said.

Derek climbed into the freezing tub, looking at Scott and nodding, letting him know he was ready. Scott allowed Derek to take a few deep breaths before he shoved him under the water.


	10. Chapter 10

Stiles was sitting in his favorite spot under the Nemeton, with his eyes closed, singing one of his favorite songs, when he heard someone walking through the forest. “So many visitors lately,” Stiles said out loud. Stiles could hear them approaching but he didn’t want to open his eyes just yet. They sat down in front of him. “Stiles, is it really you?”

Stiles eyes shot open. There was only one person who had that deep, rumbly voice.

“Derek?” he breathed out. Stiles got a good look at Derek. His eyes had gigantic bags under them, and his hair was a mess. He looked like he hadn’t really been shaving but, damn, he was still one of the most stunning people Stiles had ever seen. Especially since he had the biggest smile on his face.

“Stiles,” Derek said, hesitantly reaching across to him. His hand hovered near Stiles’ arm, never quite touching. Stiles looked him in the eyes and gave him a slight nod. Derek immediately took the invitation and closed the gap between them, his veins turning black.

Stiles did not think the healing would work since he was dreaming, but as soon as Derek touched him he felt all his pain start to drift away. He sighed and made grabby hands, forcing Derek to put his arms around him. Derek just laughed while, carefully, maneuvering Stiles so that Derek could sit behind him against the tree.

“Sooo,” Stiles drawled, “how long are you planning on staying?”

Stiles felt Derek’s body shake with a quiet chuckle, “What do you mean?”

“Well, last time I saw someone it was Scott, and it had only lasted a couple minutes. And I only saw a glimpse of Allison. You would think my brain would be a bit more generous with my delusions. ” Stiles looked thoughtful. “At least it is being nicer since you are here now. Although, I am honestly surprised I imagined Allison before I imagined you.”

“Why is that?” Derek asked.

“Well,” Stiles said, snuggling deeper into Derek’s embrace, “the top three important people in my life are my dad, Scott, and you, so Allison showing up was a little strange. Now, don’t get me wrong, she is on my list, just a little further down.”

Derek, who had been absentmindedly running his fingers up and down Stiles’ arms, stilled. “I am the third most important person in your life?” he asked.

Stiles struggled to turn around. “I mean, well yeah,” he said. “Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I had to choose between you or Scott, like one lives and the other dies, and I start to panic because how could I make that choice? How could I choose between you two? But I don’t see that happening anytime soon.” Stiles got quiet. “Well I guess it could, with the lives we lead, am I right?” he said with a nervous laugh. “You seem upset. Are you upset? Did I upset you? Oh god I did upset you. I guess even my subconscious knows that I upset you on a daily basis.”

“No,” Derek said with a smile, “I just didn’t realize I was that important to you.”

Stiles snorted. “Duh,” he said, settling back into Derek. They sat like that for a couple of minutes until Derek shifted a little.

“Stiles,” he said, “I need you to do something for me when you wake up.”

“Hmm?” Stiles mumbled, having a hard time focusing since he was so comfortable.

“I need you to recite a spell.”

“Why?”

“It’s a locator spell. The spell will be able to tell everyone back home where you are. We can come save you.”

Stiles sat up. “That’s not funny Fake Derek,” he said, shaking his head. “Have I really gotten to the point where I am giving myself false hope? I should have known,” he said bitterly, “Nothing in my life personifies wishful thinking more than Derek Hale.” Stiles struggled to stand up, to get away from the Fake Derek he had created in his head.

“Stiles, please! I am real! Just trust me-”

“No, I,” he said, “I can’t do this right now.” Stiles heard the unmistakable sound of his cell door squeaking. “And looks like I won’t have to.”


	11. Chapter 11

Stiles woke up, already tied to a chair.

“Well, well,” a voice said behind him. “He is finally awake.”

“Took him long enough,” a voice to his left said. “Usually he wakes up screeching the moment we touch him. You must have been too easy on him yesterday,” he said, extenuating his statement with a hard punch in Stiles’ stomach.

Stiles was also surprised that he had not woken up sooner. Usually any amount of moving caused him to gasp out in pain, but he hardly felt any today at all. Sure, there was some soreness, but he felt better than he had since he had first been captured. His mind flitted back to his dream, of Derek taking his pain, but he immediately shut that train of thought down. _‘It was just a dream,’_ he thought. _‘Do not think it was anything other than your mind trying to cope.’_

A smack across his face brought him back to reality. “Alright _găoază_ , are you going to talk today?”

There were always two of them torturing him at a time. Today, there was a larger man with dark hair, and a smaller man with a scar on his face. The first day Stiles had seen him he had rolled his eyes, saying “Could you get anymore cliché?” This remark had earned him a slap across the face.

Stiles’ didn’t say anything, just stared straight ahead. This earned him a few more blows to his body, but he never yelled out in pain.

“Huh,” one with the scar said. “I think you are right. He isn’t squealing like he usually does. Maybe he needs a little extra something today.” Stiles heard him walk over to other side of the room and pick something up. The next thing he heard was the sound of a blade being sharpened.

“Why are we still at this,” the dark haired one said. “It was been two weeks and he still hasn’t talked. If he was going to talk he would have already. Is this group of werewolves really worth it?”

The scarred man stopped sharpening and looked over at his partner. “Do I need to remind you how dangerous they are? They have all the hunters in the area eating out of the palm of their hand. They are dangerous and are just waiting for the right moment to pounce.” He started sharpening the knife again. “We need to kill them all.”

Stiles didn’t know what came over him, but he finally snapped. He started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” the dark haired one asked.

“I just realized how stupid you guys are,” Stiles said, still laughing. “You think that every werewolf out there is evil. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have seen some pretty bad werewolves. But I have also seen some pretty bad humans too. Case in point,” he said, nodding his head towards them.

 “You wanna know why we have treaties with all the surrounding hunters?” Stiles continued. “It’s not because we tricked them, or bullied them into it, like you so desperately want to believe. We have those treaties because we are strong. Because we protect people from the real monsters.” Stiles struggled against his restraints to sit up a little straighter. “Do you know how many things there are that go bump in the night? And do you know how many times we have protected our town from them?” Stiles gave them both a look of disgust. “And you could help to, if you weren’t so stupid. So afraid.”

The scarred man stood up and put the blade against Stiles’ cheek. “Keep talking _muie_ , tell us exactly how strong you all are.”

“The dark haired one is right,” Stiles said. “I won’t talk.”

“Why put so much faith in a group of _monstru_? If they are really as strong as you say, they would have found you by now.”

“Clearly you guys are good at cleaning up after yourselves, otherwise you would be dead by now,” Stiles said. “But my pack is relentless. When they find you, and believe me, they will, you will see the monsters that you so truly believe they are.”

“Well, let’s be sure to leave behind a pretty corpse,” he said, cutting deeply into Stiles’ arm. Stiles bit his lip, trying to muffle a scream. “But let’s have a little fun first.”


	12. Chapter 12

Stiles woke up on the forest floor, coughing heavily, struggling to take a breath. The scarred man had cut him deeply all over his body, while punching him heavily in the face and stomach. Stiles knew they were no longer trying to keep him alive. He was never going to betray his pack and they knew it. They were confused by his loyalty, but they knew. He was no longer useful.

As he was coughing on the forest floor, he could still feel the knife biting into his body, his entire body cringing with each attack. He was going to die. He was going to die and he was never going to see his dad again. He was never going to see Scott. He was never going to see-

“Derek?” he asked, in too much pain to be thinking clearly.

“Stiles!” Derek said, suddenly appearing over him. He instantly put both arms on Stiles, holding him down while taking his pain away. Stiles was so confused. “How?” he started to ask, but Derek made him shut up.

“Stiles, you need to stay still!” Derek cried. Every bit of pain Derek took away was just replaced moments later. Stiles struggled to focus on Derek’s face, but all he could see were the tears in Derek’s eyes, the fear. “Don’t die, please don’t die,” he could hear Derek muttering. “You can’t die.” Stiles eyes were starting to drift close.

“Stiles!”

“Derek stop,” Stiles slurred, trying to push Derek off of him. “Can’t take this much pain from me. You’ll die too.”

“I don’t care,” he heard Derek whimper. “As long as you are safe, I don’t care.”

They stayed like that for who knows how long, with Stiles going back and forth between lying with Derek in the forest and being beaten in the chair. It wasn’t until Stiles felt the hunters pick him up and start heading towards his cell that he was able to push through the pain to understand what they were saying.

“-honestly don’t know how he is still alive,” the dark haired one was saying. “There is no way a normal human would be able to withstand all of that.”

“It doesn’t matter,” the scarred man said. “If he survives through the night we will just shoot him in the head.”

Stiles felt them throw him into the cell, the resulting smack against the wall knocking him out again.


	13. Chapter 13

Stiles jolted awake, still in Derek’s arms. Stiles looked over at Derek. “I’m dead, aren’t I?” he said.

Derek gave him a huge smile. “You’re alive,” he whispered.

“How am I alive?” Derek didn’t answer, just rested his forehead against Stiles shoulder. “I am serious Derek, how am I still alive?” Stiles said, struggling to roll over so he could get a better look at Derek. Derek didn’t say anything, just coughed and tightened his grip, his veins still black. “Oh my god. This is real isn’t it? This isn’t a dream?” Stiles said, starting to freak out. “You’re real. But how? I don’t understand. Derek?”

“The Nemeton,” Derek forced out.

“The Nemeton?” Stiles questioned, looking around the forest. “I don’t- the sacrifice!” Stiles exclaimed, finally understanding. “I saw Scott and Allison because we had all sacrificed ourselves to the Nemeton! That explains why I only dream of this place when I am knocked out.” Stiles was overjoyed that he had finally figured it out. “But I don’t understand. Scott and Allison should be the only ones able to come here.”

“It was too dangerous for them,” Derek said. “I don’t know how much time we have. Stiles, I need you to-” Derek started to violently cough. Stiles was able to wiggle out of his grasp and he sat up running his hands up and down Derek’s back.

“I told you not to take my pain away,” Stiles said, seeing how pale Derek looked.

“As long as you are safe,” Derek said. “Listen, I need you to say these words when you are awake. They will activate a spell, and the pack will be able to find you.”

“Yeah,” Stiles said, running his hands through his hair. “Okay, yeah what is it?”

_“Ostendo ego domum, in genus, in amicus, in amator.”_

“ _Ostendo ego domum, in genus, in amicus, in amator?_ ” Stiles repeated. “And this will work?” he asked, a little uncertain.

“It will work,” Derek said, nodding.

Stiles was nodding along, trying to memorize the words when-

“Derek?” Stiles said in a low voice, his blood running cold. “How are you here?”

Derek just looked at him. “There’s no way for you to be here unless…”

Derek shook his head, a laugh escaping his lips that turned into a small coughing fit. “I had to see you.”

 “You sacrificed yourself,” Stiles said, anger and fear simmering in his stomach, “didn’t you.”

 “It was worth it,” Derek said, a smile still on his face.

“Dammit Derek!” Stiles shouted. “How long have you been here!?” Again, Derek stayed silent. “Are you kidding me!? You could get stuck here! You could die!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Derek said, clearly having a difficult time keeping his breathing steady. “The pack will find you. Scott will find you.”

 Stiles looked around, hearing loud voices all around him. “No, no, no, no, no,” he said, turning back to Derek. “I am waking up.”

“It’s okay. You can do this. You will wake up and say the spell. “You will get back home.”

“You will be there, right?!,” Stiles cried, trying to keep eye contact with Derek. “You will wake up too and you will come find me, right!? Derek!?”

Derek reached for Stiles, cupping his face. “I lo-” And with those words ringing in his ears, Stiles woke up.


	14. Chapter 14

Scott was having a hard time staying in control. It had been thirty-six hours since Derek had done the ritual and he still wasn’t awake. Thirty-six hours of Scott pacing back and forth in Deaton’s office, unable to sit still yet unable to focus on anything. Thirty-six hours of not knowing whether Derek had been able to convince Stiles or if the spell just hadn’t worked.

About two hours after Derek had gone under, the veins in his arms had turned black. Scott had been worried, calling Deaton over, but Deaton shook his head, suggesting Derek was taking Stiles’ pain away. After that, nothing had happened.

They had pulled him out of the tub, so he was currently on one of the clinic’s tables, getting paler by the minute. Scott was getting tense.

Issac and Erica had spent the better part of the second morning talking to Derek, pleading for him to wake up. Scott had yelled at him. Boyd had sat by his side, never saying anything but exuding a heavy feeling of determination. Even Aiden and Ethan had come by, awkwardly putting a hand on his shoulder before quickly leaving. But he didn’t move a muscle.

Most of the pack was at Scott’s house waiting since the clinic had become too crowded. The only people there were Scott, Allison, Lydia, and Deaton.

“Why isn’t he waking up!?” Scott yelled, trying not to punch a hole in the wall. “I understand that he may not have been able to convince Stiles at first, but he should have woken up by now.”

“I told you this would happen,” Lydia said. “We just have to wait until he is able to convince Stiles to trigger the spell.”

“But why is this happening?” Scott whined, turning to Lydia. “He has his whole pack here.”

“I hate to break it to you Scott, but the whole pack isn’t here. In fact, we are missing the one pack member who would be able to wake Derek up!” Lydia yelled back. “Really Scott? Are you this blind?”

Before Scott could answer, Derek’s body started to convulse. His veins were black, roping around his entire body. He started to cough as well, blood speckling his shirt. “What is going on!?” Allison yelled, running over to help Deaton and Scott hold him down.

As soon as Deaton opened his mouth to answer, Lydia started screaming. Scott frantically looked over at her.

“Lydia!” Scott yelled. “Lydia, who is it?!”

Lydia stopped screaming and took a deep breath in. “Both,” she cried out. “Both of them.”

Nobody knew what to do. Deaton stepped back, grabbing something in a syringe and stabbing it into Derek’s leg, but it didn’t seem to help.

They sat there for over twenty minutes, holding Derek down until, eventually, the shaking stopped. His veins were still black, though.

“Lydia?” Scott asked softly. “Is Stiles…?”

“He is alive, and so is Derek. But Derek,” she shook her head, “I am still getting a weird feeling.”

“He has been under too long,” Deaton said, standing up. “He must have used most of his strength to help keep Stiles alive. Strength he needs to be able to leave the Nemeton’s world. He needs to wake up soon, or he won’t wake up at all.” Deaton walked into his office, shutting the door.

Scott, Allison, and Lydia just sat there, not knowing what to do. It had been quiet for a couple of minutes before Scott started to talk.

“I’m not stupid you know,” he said quietly. “Or blind. I guess I just didn’t realize how much Derek loved Stiles until right now. He is surrounded by his entire pack,” he said, looking over at Derek, “yet the pull of Stiles is too strong.” Allison put her arms around Scott, leaning into him. “I just, I can’t lose both of them,” he said.

“And you won’t have to,” Lydia said with a grin, looking past him towards the table with the map. “Stiles just activated the spell.”


	15. Chapter 15

Stiles woke up gasping, on the verge of a panic attack. ‘ _Not now Stiles,’_ he thought to himself. ‘ _You can’t do this right now. You have a spell to recite.’_ Stiles took a few large breaths in. Even with Derek having taken most of his pain, it hurt. He looked around, thanking every deity he could think of that the voices were outside of his cell.

Stiles whispered, _“Ostendo ego domum, in genus, in amicus, in amator.”_ He immediately felt the energy flow through him and he let out a sigh of relief.

He was tempted to knock himself out so he could see Derek again. But since Derek was able to deliver the spell to Stiles he would be able to wake up. _‘He is probably awake right now, gathering the pack and coming to save me,’_ Stiles thought. He was having a hard time staying awake, eventually succumbing to the exhaustion.

He dreamed of being home. Of hugging his dad. Of playing videogames with Scott and Allison.  Of showering Lydia with compliments and having her walk away with an irritated, yet pleased look on her face. Of watching a movie with the pack and snuggling up next to Derek, listening to him whisper those words he was so sure he heard before he had woken up.


	16. Chapter 16

Stiles woke up later to the sound of loud cursing and people running around. As he struggled to sit up, his door banged open, the scarred man standing in the entrance. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, until a loud howl was heard throughout the building.

Stiles’ just gave him an evil grin. “Told you,” he said.

Before the man could even point his gun at Stiles, he was tackled to the ground by a large body covered in hair. The man was yelling until whoever had tackled him ripped out his throat, spraying blood into the air. A small part of Stiles felt bad for taking so much joy in seeing that. But the rest of him was just jumping up and down in victory. Just then, another figure came through the doorway.

“Aiden, Ethan, go help the others!” Scott yelled over the sound of fighting. The werewolf took off down the hallway.

“Scott,” Stiles said, not truly believing it, slumping against the wall.

Scott ran to Stiles. “Stiles! Stiles, thank god you are still alive!! We need to get you out of here.”

“No Scotty,” Stiles said sarcastically, “I think I want to stay here a bit longer. I haven’t fully experienced everything this place has to offer.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Scott said, a huge smile on his face. “It’s nice to see you too.” Scott pulled Stiles up, carefully, and helped him walk through the door. They passed through the warehouse’s open floor and Stiles was not able to see everything that was happening. And from the bits and pieces he saw, he was glad for that.

The floor was slippery with blood, more blood than Stiles thought was possible, and the walls were coated. There was gunfire and yelling heard throughout the warehouse, yet the shouts were always cut short. A hot, metallic scent filled the air. Stiles shuddered. He hadn’t been lying when he said that his pack was ruthless.

They finally reached a door that lead outside. Stiles didn’t hesitate, just burst through the door, never looking back. He kept walking were Scott was leading him, not caring as long as it got him further away from that place. They didn’t stop until they reached a set of cars, Scott opening up the door of one and helping Stiles sit down. They sat there, listening to the sounds of howling fill the air.


	17. Chapter 17

Once they had gotten to the cars, Scott started to pace. They were the first ones back since Scott’s only goal had been to remove Stiles from the building. As much as he wanted to sink his claws into the hunters who had tortured his best friend, to tear their throats out, getting Stiles out had been top priority.

“My dad didn’t come with you guys, right?” Stiles asked weakly.

Scott shook his head. “No, he wanted to but I didn’t want him to see this,” he said, gesturing back towards the building.

“Good,” Stiles said, giving a weak cough, followed by a painful gasp.

“Shit,” Scott said, rushing over to Stiles. “I am so sorry. I should have brought you something to eat, water at least,” Scott said, angry with himself.

 “You just broke me out of hell and are worried about not bringing me a goodie bag?” Stiles said, giving him a huge smile. “Although water would have been nice,” he said in a teasing tone.

Just then Chris and Allison came around one of the cars, Chris throwing Scott a bottle of water. He opened the bottle and handed it to Stiles. Stiles rolled his eyes, muttering that he was not an invalid, but greedily took the water bottle, wincing a little with each gulp. Scott reached over to take some of the pain away, but Stiles flinched away, spilling some of the water. “Sorry,” he said, shaking his head, “I just…Did Derek tell you what happened when he healed me?” Scott just leaned back, shaking his head. “Well, he almost died, so I can hold off until I go to the hospital,” he said. Scott, Allison, and Chris were silent. Stiles cleared his throat. “Derek will be here soon,” Stiles said, looking between them, “right?”

At that exact moment, Isaac and Erica came bursting in, immediately walking up to Stiles. Erica practically crawled into the car to give him a huge hug, carefully resting her body on his, while Isaac put his hand on his arm. Erica kept whispering, “Why couldn’t we have gotten to you sooner,” looking over all the wounds he had obtained. Stiles just returned the hug, conveying over and over again that he was fine, that he was alive, that they were going home.   While this was happening Boyd, Ethan, and Aiden arrived.

“We need to move soon, I don’t know if they were able to send out a distress call to any of the nearby hunters,” Chris spoke up.

Scott nodded, “Everyone is here so we can head out. Me, Erica, and Boyd will take Stiles to the hospital. I already called my mom and the Sheriff, so they know we are on the way. The rest of you can get in Mr. Argent’s car and-”

All the werewolves turned to look at Stiles, whose heart rate had doubled. “Where’s Derek?” he whispered. Scott looked down while Stiles glanced around the group, but everyone was avoiding his stare. “Where’s Derek,” he said more forcefully. When nobody said anything Stiles just collapsed into his seat. “Oh my god, he is dead, isn’t he?” he started to mumble to himself. “He died saving me, and I never even…he didn’t know…I just…”

“He’s not dead Stiles,” Scott said, Stiles eyes snapping up to meet his. “At least not yet.” Scott could see Stiles starting to panic, and he flinched. “It’s just, he has been under for so long. We tried to wake him up but he-”

“Take me to him,” Stiles said, his face set in determination.

“It might be too late Stiles,” Allison said. “By the time we get back it will be over 48 hours.”

“And we need to get you to a hospital,” Scott said.

“I have to try,” Stiles said. “Take me to him. Now.”


	18. Chapter 18

The ride back was tense. Stiles just kept muttering to himself, flinching whenever anyone made a movement around him. It just kept reminding Scott that Stiles hadn’t just been kidnapped, he had been tortured as well. Erica had tried talking to Stiles at first, but when he wasn’t responding she gave up, letting the car fall into silence.

Allison had texted Scott, telling him that they had called the Sheriff and his mom to let them know what was going on. From the sounds of it, the Sheriff was not happy about Stiles trying to see Derek before going to the hospital. Scott didn’t exactly disagree with him.

Stiles was clearly struggling to stay awake, so Erica tried suggesting to Stiles that he sleep, but he just shook his head, giving incomplete sentences about “the Nemeton” and “nightmares.”

It took a couple of hours, but when they finally arrived at Deaton’s, Stiles stumbled out of the car. He staggered over to the door, using all of his strength just to push it open. Erica had already gotten out of the car to follow him, but Scott sat in the driver’s seat for a second, bracing himself for what was about to happen. There was no way that Stiles would be able to wake Derek up. He had been under for too long, used too much of his energy to be able to claw his way back.

Scott sighed, slowly getting out of the car. By then the others had arrived, standing uncomfortably in the parking lot. They all followed him into the clinic.

They walked in to a fuming Stiles being blocked by the Sheriff.

“-need to get you to the hospital, son,” the Sheriff said.

“Will you just let me in?” Stiles yelled. “I need to see him.” Stiles was struggling to get past him, too weak to just push his way through. The bell on the door rung when the pack had entered, causing the Sheriff to look over at them. This was enough of a distraction for Stiles to slip past his dad, falling into the room.

Everyone followed him into the room. Lydia, who had been reading a book in the corner, looked up. “Stiles,” she said calmly, but it was clear that Stiles hadn’t even heard her. He had stopped in the middle of the room, having caught sight of Derek. Everyone watched in hushed silence as Stiles carefully made his way over to the table, letting out a chocked sob. He sat down in the chair next to the table, his hand slipping into Derek’s. Tears started to well in his eyes, and he didn’t do anything to stop them from falling.

Stiles took a stuttered breath in, and whispered, “Derek…”

Derek’s eyes flew open, back arching off the table, gasping for breath. Stiles quickly let go of his hand, standing up and turning back to the group, giving them a questioning look. Scott just shrugged and glanced towards Lydia, who had a smug smile on her face.

Derek collapsed back onto the table, looking over and seeing Stiles standing in the middle of the room. “I’m dead, aren’t I?” he said with a smile.

Stiles shook his head, returning the smile with a laugh. “You’re alive,” he whispered back.

Derek hastily got off the table, going to walk towards Stiles.

“I wouldn’t move so soon if I were you Derek,” Deaton said, right when Derek fell to the floor. Stiles went to catch him, clearly forgetting the injuries that he himself had sustained. They both ended up on the ground, moaning in pain. Lydia just rolled her eyes. “Idiots,” she said.


	19. Chapter 19

It had been over four months since they had rescued Stiles. He had spent a grand total of eleven days in the hospital, but he was on the path to recovery. Most of his injuries turned into scars but, in typical Stiles fashion, he wore them with as a badge of honor. He hadn’t talked to anybody about what exactly had happened yet, but nobody was pushing him on it.

The whole pack was gathered in the living room at the Stilinski’s house for their weekly dinner. They had just finished dinner and were trying to decide what movie to watch. Lydia of course wanted a romance, to which Isaac replied, “I will tell you the most romantic story in the world.”

Stiles, who was curled into Derek, was hiding his face to stop himself from laughing out loud. It had been long enough for Isaac to decide that the whole “Stiles being kidnapped and him and Derek almost dying” situation had been hilarious, instead of the nerve-racking disaster it had actually been. Isaac had gotten to the point where they had found Stiles and what had happened when he had shown up at the clinic. Danny was enjoying Isaac’s retelling because he hadn’t been there for most of it.

“So at this point everyone thinks that Stiles has gone insane. I mean, he was just sitting there, a puddle of panic, muttering to himself and refusing to go to the hospital because he ‘had to see Derek,’” Isaac said. “He literally pushes past his dad, forces himself into the room and just, like, whispers Derek’s name.

“Now, this is a good time to remind you all that we had spent almost the entire time talking to Derek, yelling at him and begging him to wake up. Yet all it takes is one word, barely audible, from Stiles to get him to open his eyes.”

Everyone looked over at the couple to see that they’re both red in the face, although Stiles’ is from laughing too hard.

“You’re forgetting the best part,” Scott said.

“Which is?” Danny asked.

“In their haste to get to each other they both completely forgot about their injuries. They literally fell on the ground trying to catch the other.”

“Ah,” Isaac said, smiling and shaking his head. “A love story for the ages.”

“Well,” Danny said, turning to Stiles, “I am glad you are back.”

“We all are,” the Sheriff said.

Stiles looped his arm around Derek. “Our story is pretty great, isn’t it?” Stiles said.

“Well,” Derek said loudly, “we have nothing on Scott and Allison.”

“Hey!” they both exclaimed, while Stiles laughed.

Scott threw a pillow at them, which resulted in Stiles throwing one back. It quickly devolved into a massive pillow fight until the Sheriff yelled, “Let’s either watch a movie, or you are all kicked out.”

As they were all settling back into their chairs, Stiles just looked around the room, smiling. He snuggled deeper into Derek. “I love you,” he said.

“I love you too,” Derek whispered back, leaning down to give him a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I would love to know what you all thought about this story! I now have a [Tumblr](http://awareoftheconcept-fics.tumblr.com/) dedicated solely for my different fics if you are interested in following.


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